No Kidd-ing: Knicks need to draft a point guard

As teams study every angle of the hopeful players eligible for Thursday's NBA draft, the Knicks are left with a gaping hole to fill and almost no hope of finding it among the prospects.

Steve Popper

As teams study every angle of the hopeful players eligible for Thursday's NBA draft, the Knicks are left with a gaping hole to fill and almost no hope of finding it among the prospects.

When Jason Kidd opted for retirement, and less than two weeks later cemented the decision by becoming the head coach of the Nets, the Knicks lost — on paper — a backup point guard. But Kidd, as he has been throughout his playing career, was so much more.

It may not have been the plan when the Knicks signed him last summer, but Kidd started 48 games, a dozen in place of Raymond Felton when Felton's hand was banged up, and the rest beside Felton at shooting guard. But wherever he was — point guard, shooting guard, small forward, starter or bench piece — Kidd was a coach on the court, the leader and brains of the team.

So when the Knicks' search for a replacement — and they need one with Pablo Prigioni a free agent, which leaves Felton as the lone sure thing at point guard — they know they may find someone with more speed or with a steadier shot. But they can't replace what Kidd provided.

Nets general manager Billy King, who landed Kidd as coach, spoke Monday of the hunt for point guards, noting, "You look for leadership. You're looking for a guy you think can run the floor and lead. Guys who have the quickness to ... can they run pick-and-rolls? Do they have vision on the court when they are running pick-and-rolls? Are they more of a scoring point guard, or a pass-first point guard?"

The draft features a handful of point guards who are expected to be first-round picks, and many will be gone before the Knicks pick at No. 24.

Michigan's Trey Burke, Lehigh's C.J. McCollum, Syracuse's Michael Carter-Williams, Miami's Shane Larkin and Germany's Dennis Schroeder all are projected as top 20 selections in most mock drafts. Isaiah Canaan of Murray State and South Dakota State's Nate Wolters also could be first-round picks.

Larkin, the son of baseball hall of famer Barry Larkin, has thrilled some scouts, but he is just 6 feet tall, as is Canaan. Burke also is on the short side, while Carter-Williams is 6-6.

The Knicks aren't going to find a player with the leadership skills that Kidd brought to the league, much less what he possessed after nearly 20 years. The real dilemma for the Knicks is that they need a versatile player to fill all of the roles Kidd filled.

With very limited payroll flexibility, J.R. Smith opting out Tuesday, and Chris Copeland and Prigioni restricted free agents, the Knicks ideally should find a point guard who could, as Kidd did, split time at both guard spots.

The most likely scenario for the Knicks is they could land a player like Canaan, who has the skill set to play both spots and possesses deep shooting range. But his size makes playing shooting guard a dilemma, leaving him matched up against much taller players.

Wolters, who worked out for the Knicks and reportedly impressed, could be an option at 6-5. While playing against lesser competition for most of his career, he averaged 21 points per game over his last three seasons, starting 98 games. But in his final game, he scored just 10 points on 3-of-14 shooting against Burke and Michigan.